The present invention relates to an improvement in the manner in which liquid farm chemicals are applied to crops in the field. More specifically, an apparatus for maintaining an accurate measurement of the amount of liquid farm chemicals applied to each acre of farm crop when mixed with water in that application by a chemical applicator.
As agriculture has evolved farmers have began using a variety of chemicals in order to optimize production. These chemicals include fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. These chemicals come in a variety of forms, both liquid, solid and gas. This invention relates specifically to the application of liquid chemicals such as insecticides, herbicides or fertilizers.
Often times it is necessary to directly spray the leaves of a plant with a liquid chemical, this can be done either by air or by a ground applicator. When a ground applicator is used to apply chemicals, there has generally been two choices in controlling the amount of the liquid chemical that is applied.
The first method is to premix the liquid chemical with water, this is commonly referred to as tank mixing. Chemicals are received in a highly concentrated form and then diluted with water before spraying. When this method is used the person controlling the sprayer visually Watches the amount of chemical and water drop from the tank. Then, knowing the width of the sprayer and the length of the field the driver is able to calculate how much chemical is being applied to the crop. This is usually done on a volume per acre basis. This method has several disadvantages, the first being that once a tank has been mixed, it must be used before switching to another chemical or mixture. Secondly, it requires excessive calculations by the farmer in order to know the rate at which chemical is being applied. The final disadvantage, being that as these chemicals come in a highly concentrated form, they can be extremely dangerous and the use of tank mixing often requires that the farmer pour the chemical directly into the tank. This may result in hazardous spills. In response to the problems with tank mixing, systems for directly injecting chemicals into water before spraying have been developed. This brings us to the second form of controlling the amount of liquid chemical applied when ground spraying, the direct injection system. On a direct injection type sprayer, separate holding containers are used. The first container is a large water holding tank and the second is a smaller chemical tank. Often the chemical tank is merely the container in which the chemical is purchased. This may be a keg or barrel. A line is attached to the chemical tank and as the sprayer travels over a field the chemical is directly injected into a stream of water for mixing and finally, application to the crop. The problem with this method is, first, it can be very difficult to measure the amount of chemical that is being used and secondly, this often requires one to trust the settings on the applicator for accuracy. Finally, the accuracy of these settings cannot be checked until a substantial amount of ground as been covered in order to get a fair reading on the amount of chemical that has been used. In some instances, the operator will have to use a whole keg or container of undiluted chemical before the application rate can be accurately measured. In today's farm environment the cost of chemical and its effect on a crop is a substantial factor in whether a profit is made. Thus, there has been a great need for a method to accurately measure the rate at which chemical is being applied in a direct injection manor.
From the foregoing discussion, it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus for the measuring of a chemical on a direct injection type sprayer that could be instantly and accurately interpreted by the operator from the cab of the sprayer or tractor. The present invention addresses this problem by suppling a means of measuring the chemical by weight, as it is being used. The present invention also offers other advantages over the prior art and solves problems associated therewith.